dual personalities

Month: September, 2023

September 29, 2023

TGIF, am I right?

by chuckofish

Happy Friday, readers! It has been awhile since I’ve posted–but most of my hijinks have made it on the blog anyway. I ventured to my old stomping grounds, Indiana, for several days for a photoshoot. I got to see some big trucks. And when I showed that picture of me in front of a giant a haul truck to the wee laddie, he shouted with excitement, “ARE YOU A CONSTRUCTION WORKER?!?” which made driving the rental Dodge Durango worth it.

I have to say, it did make me miss the cornfields of outstate MO. A little.

Then I visited sweet Susie and her family in Maryland. Don’t worry, I took very few pictures and none of me with my sister! But Susie did take this:

Katie and I share the bond of first children who no longer receive undivided attention. We had a lot of special time which we BOTH enjoyed. Also, I have quite a few lines in my face.

Mr. Smith was quite glad to see me when I returned both times and then took several days to recover from the trauma of being at the kennel. We’re back to normal now (fingers crossed). You should all get pumped because I am having a small get together to celebrate his first birthday this weekend. Hopefully, we’ll get a picture of him in a party hat. In the meantime, we’re just hanging out and keeping an eye out for those pesky squirrels.

Also, does everyone not do this?

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September 28, 2023

Split the planets and make an infidel of Abraham

by chuckofish

Today we remember the great Herman Melville (1819-91) who died on this day. We recommend reading some Moby-Dick–just open the book and start reading. You can’t go wrong.

“It was a black and hooded head; and hanging there in the midst of so intense a calm, it seemed the Sphynx’s in the desert. “Speak, thou vast and venerable head,” muttered Ahab, “which, though ungarnished with a beard, yet here and there lookest hoary with mosses; speak, mighty head, and tell us the secret thing that is in thee. Of all divers, thou hast dived the deepest. That head upon which the upper sun now gleams, has moved amid this world’s foundations. Where unrecorded names and navies rust, and untold hopes and anchors rot; where in her murderous hold this frigate earth is ballasted with bones of millions of the drowned; there, in that awful water-land, there was thy most familiar home. Thou hast been where bell or diver never went; hast slept by many a sailor’s side, where sleepless mothers would give their lives to lay them down. Thou saw’st the locked lovers when leaping from their flaming ship; heart to heart they sank beneath the exulting wave; true to each other, when heaven seemed false to them. Thou saw’st the murdered mate when tossed by pirates from the midnight deck; for hours he fell into the deeper midnight of the insatiate maw; and his murderers still sailed on unharmed- while swift lightnings shivered the neighboring ship that would have borne a righteous husband to outstretched, longing arms. O head! thou has seen enough to split the planets and make an infidel of Abraham, and not one syllable is thine!” (p.339)

It might also be time to watch Moby-Dick (1956) starring Gregory Peck as Ahab, since I forgot to watch it on August 1, Melville’s birthday.

A few weeks ago I watched 10 minutes of the William Hurt/Ethan Hawke version but baled because it had already veered from the book. Sorry, not going to waste my time.

Speaking of tyrants, this is a good reminder of when it is necessary to obey God (and defy tyrants).

And while we’re on the subject of the ocean, researchers have completed in-depth underwater archaeological surveys of some of the wreckage from the Battle of Midway in 1942. The wrecks are located more than 16,000 feet below the surface. Learn more here.

By the way, I’m not the only one defending Puritans. This author also accuses critics of “a stunning ignorance of their theology.”

Last night I watched the Amor Towles “Library Talk” sponsored by the Library Speakers Consortium. It was very interesting, as you can imagine. He has a new book coming out next year–huzzah! Here is a list of upcoming LSC events. And here is a picture of Mr. Smith watching Amor Towles:

Who knew he was such an intellectual.

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September 27, 2023

“Speak these things”*

by chuckofish

“We live in a fallen world with decaying bodies in a crumbling culture that is increasingly turning away from absolute truth. As the world spirals farther and farther from perfection, the centrifugal force of sin pushes the edges and expands the boundaries of acceptability. And we feel the loss.” (Read the whole excellent article here.)

We see a lot of doom and gloom in the world and we worry about our grandchildren. We know that all the lost people striving for meaning in their lives will never find it looking inside themselves. The only balm in this world is Jesus, but to say so in mixed company is to invite raised eyebrows or even ridicule. C’est la vie. I am old enough that I don’t care. I will keep advising people to read the Bible (the whole thing) and to go to church. Find a good one where they follow God’s word and not their own feelings.

We are surrounded by blessings and beauty every day which we mostly don’t notice or appreciate. Be thankful and know to whom you are grateful. Jesus is coming back and in the meantime he promised that He is with us always, even to the end of the age.

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

(Titus 2:11-14)

*Titus 2:15

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September 26, 2023

How’s it goin’?

by chuckofish

It is the last week of September…soon we will enter that long slide to Christmas which will zoom by in a flash. We have got to get organized!

Well, I am sticking to my routine and keeping up with my Bible reading plan. I also signed up for another free Hillsdale College course: “Supply-Side Economics and American Prosperity with Arthur Laffer.” I know you’re impressed, right? I passed the first quiz, so I am hopeful I can keep up. I have to do something to keep my brain cells from mutinying.

It is now that time of year when the Halloween displays pop up in people’s yards. It is quite a competition in my neck of the woods. The OM and I drove by one such yard display that looks like a pumpkin patch–do they really want people coming to their door hoping to buy a pumpkin? Because that’s what it looks like. I guess that growing “ginormous” pumpkins has become a thing as well. It takes a lot of effort.

This article reminded me of the bad experience we had at our Episcopal church years ago. “So, while no one denies that there are bad pastors, almost no one is discussing the fact that there are bad churches. Where are the documentaries and podcasts discussing pastor-destroying churches? There is precious little discussion about the fact that there is hardly a pastor out there who has not been wounded, slandered, bullied, or run off from a church by bad associate pastors and ungodly church members.” Amen to that.

Meanwhile everyone is sick in daughter #2’s family…

…but three-year old Katie is still on top of her game.

I watched Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) the other night on TCM. I had not seen it in a very long time. I am not a big fan of Frank Capra, but I have to say, this movie is good!

Jimmy Stewart is not too gangly and aw-shucks, but just right as the idealistic new senator and Jean Arthur does not whine, but takes charge as needed. It still resonates today with its message of governmental corruption–the swamp. The press comes off very badly. Its patriotic message needs to ring out anew–it should be required viewing for all fourth graders. And it’s a good lesson in basic civics, something about which most Americans are woefully ignorant.

By the way, daughter #1’s Mr. Smith was not named after the Mr. Smith who went to Washington, but the Mr. Smith who was a dog in The Awful Truth (1937).

Enjoy your Tuesday! Watch an old movie, learn something new, pet a nice dog.

4 Comments
September 25, 2023

“Thou art my Counselor, my pattern, and my Guide”*

by chuckofish

How was your weekend? Mine was a quiet one. Daughter #1 was in Maryland visiting daughter #2. I picked her up at the airport on Saturday and we were both relieved that her flight back was uneventful and unaffected by the hurricane back east.

I watched a little SEC football–Alabama vs Ole Miss–so I would have a better grip on Matt Mitchell’s weekly SEC recap. He is so mean to Mizzou, but I love him anyway.

Can’t wait to see what he has to say this week!

We saw the boy and the twins at church and enjoyed an interesting adult ed class on AI (let us not forget that God is sovereign) as well as a good sermon by the seminary student who is our Youth Minister. It actually contained a little brimstone. I do like some brimstone in a sermon.

We went to the wee laddie’s soccer game later in the afternoon. His other grandparents were there, visiting from Florida–so he had quite the cheering section.

He is slowly but surely getting the idea of the game…

His team is still undefeated thanks to two players who look and play like fourth graders. God bless America.

Also, I appreciated this text from the boy:

*Isaac Watts, 1707

6 Comments
September 22, 2023

Friday inspo

by chuckofish

Thy name is excellent,
      thy glory high,
      thy compassions unfailing,
      thy condescension wonderful,
      thy mercy tender.
I bless thee for the discoveries, invitations,
    promises of the gospel
  for in them is pardon for rebels,
    liberty for captives,
    health for the sick,
    salvation for the lost.
I come to thee in thy beloved name of Jesus;
  re-impress thy image upon my soul;
Raise me above the smiles and frowns of the world,
  regarding it as a light thing to be judged by men;
May thy approbation be my only aim,
  thy Word my one rule.
Make me to abhor that which grieves thy
    Holy Spirit,
  to suspect consolations of a worldly nature,
  to shun a careless way of life,
  to reprove evil,
  to instruct with meekness those who oppose me,
  to be gentle and patient towards all men,
  to be not only a professor but an example
    of the gospel,
  displaying in every relation, office, and condition
    its excellency, loveliness and advantages.
How little have I illustrated my principles
  and improved my privileges!
How seldom I served my generation!
How often have I injured and not recommended
  my Redeemer!
How few are those blessed through me!
In many things I have offended,
    in all come short of thy glory;
Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.

–The Valley of Vision

Now that’s a prayer!

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September 21, 2023

“Charles, if the goal was to offer a more interesting anecdote, we’re headed in the wrong direction.”*

by chuckofish

Yesterday I went to my friend’s house to watch I Am So Not Inviting You to My Bat Mitzvah (2023) on her big screen tv.

It stars Adam Sandler, his wife, and two daughters. It is Mean Girls for Jewish girls. I enjoyed it and understood most of the jokes. But it is a lot of seventh grade girls being girls. I lived through those years myself and through my daughters’ early adolescences as well. It was not easy. Now from the perspective of old ladyhood, it is still amusing, but I am glad I am through with all that drama.

I have also been watching season three of Only Murders In the Building with Steve, Marty and Selena.

It started off very slowly, but it is picking up steam and I am enjoying it. I always watch each episode twice so I won’t miss anything, but there are people out there who clearly are really obsessed.

Meanwhile daughter #1 flew to Maryland to spend a few days with daughter #2 and her delightful little family.

Let the good times roll!

*Oliver (Martin Short) on OMITB.

3 Comments
September 20, 2023

Living the sermon

by chuckofish

The other night I watched 42 (2013) starring Chadwick Boseman as Jackie Robinson, the first African-American to play Major League Baseball, and Harrison Ford as Branch Rickey. I had seen it before and liked it, but I was really struck by it this time around.

Obviously Jackie Robinson is the heroic figure at the center of the film. He blazed an amazing and courageous trail. But I have to say, I found the character of Branch Rickey, co-owner, president and general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, to be equally fascinating. Why did he do what he did? Why did he take it upon himself to integrate the Dodgers and thereby professional baseball? At one point in the film Rickey explains that his inspiration for bringing Robinson on to the team was the ill-treatment he saw received by his black catcher Charles Thomas on the Ohio Wesleyan baseball team, which he coached in 1903 and 1904, and feeling that he hadn’t done enough to help him. Granted, but the movie also seems to suggest that a large part of what motivated him was his Christian faith.

When Rickey decides that Robinson is the man to do the job, one of his main reasons is “He’s a Methodist, I’m a Methodist… And God’s a Methodist; We can’t go wrong.” He is not kidding.

He also tells Robinson after one of many altercations, “I want a player who’s got the guts not to fight back. People aren’t gonna like this. They’re gonna do anything to get you to react. Echo a curse with a curse and, uh, they’ll hear only yours. Follow a blow with a blow and they’ll say, ‘The Negro lost his temper.’ That ‘The Negro does not belong.’ Your enemy will be out in force… and you cannot meet him on his own low ground. We win with hitting, running, fielding. Only that. We win if the world is convinced of two things: That you are a fine gentleman and a great baseball player. Like our Savior… you gotta have the guts… to turn the other cheek. Can you do it?”

I think Martin Luther King would have agreed.

And there is this exchange after the racist manager of the Phillies has bated Robinson mercilessly:

  • Robinson: Do you know what it’s like, having someone do this to you?
  • Rickey: No. No. You do. You’re the one living the sermon. In the wilderness. Forty days. All of it. Only you.
  • Robinson: And not a damn thing I can do about it.
  • Rickey: Of course there is! You can stand up and hit! You can get on base and you can score! You can win this game for us! We need you! Everyone needs you.

Anyway, I salute Branch Rickey: preach!

Bonus: This movie also stars Lucas Black as Robinson’s teammate Pee Wee Reese. “Maybe tomorrow, we’ll all wear 42, so nobody could tell us apart.”

Amen.

1 Comment
September 19, 2023

We ain’t perfect but we try

by chuckofish

I finished the Hillsdale College online course on Genesis and I’m happy to say I passed all the quizzes, the final and the course. It was a worthwhile endeavor and I will probably take another course. And they’re free.

This is an excellent article on a disturbing subject. “In 1939 T. S. Eliot gave a series of lectures at the University of Cambridge in which he described a fork in the road. Western Civilization might continue along the Christian path, he predicted, or it might adopt “modern paganism.” Eliot, a Christian convert, hoped for the former, but he feared that we were already hell-bent on the latter.” The pagans are winning.

And here are two articles about a favorite subject of mine: Puritans–Jonathan Edwards and his long workday and Puritan women debunking Puritan stereotypes.

I try not to get into arguments with people, but I remember one time I did. It was back when daughter #2 was a student at Wash U. and I had lunch with her and her boyfriend, who made the mistake of making a really uninformed remark about Puritans. He was your typical know-it-all, arrogant Wash U. student and I just couldn’t let him get away with his stupid comment. A lecture followed. I’m sure daughter #2 was mortified. Well, let’s just say I was pleased when they broke up at the end of senior year. Thank goodness DN has had the good sense never to knock the Puritans in my presence.

Like I said, I try to get along with people.

We find out when you die the keys to heaven can’t be bought
We still don’t know what love is but we sure know what it’s not
Sometimes you got to

Get along, on down the road
We’ve got a long long way to go
Scared to live, scared to die
We ain’t perfect but we try

—Shane McAnally, Ross Copperman, Josh Osborne

(The artwork at the top is by my talented six-year old granddaughter Lottie. It is her interpretation of the song “Coat of Many Colors” by Dolly Parton. The mean girl on the left is making fun of little Dolly’s dress.)

5 Comments
September 18, 2023

Just as I am

by chuckofish

The Greentree Festival was this weekend in our hometown, so, of course, we went to the parade. Per usual, there were bagpipers, army trucks, the KHS band, Shriners, floats, old cars, and more:

The twins had a great time–they couldn’t believe people were throwing candy at them…

…and Mr. Smith had fun being out and about too!

After church on Sunday we went to watch the wee bud’s soccer game. We have now officially entered the grandparents going to their grandchildrens’ sporting events phase of our lives–I am not complaining.

It was a beautiful day to sit outside and we had a lot fun. Once when the ball went out of bounds right in front of us, Lottie picked it up and threw it back in and all the boys yelled, “Lottieeeee, what are you doing?” It was pretty funny. She just laughed and gave them a fiddle-de-dee look.

The boy’s team won the game and they are 2 and 0 now. They have a couple of boys who can actually dribble and they score all the goals. The rest run up and down the field and try not to fall down.

So it’s Monday again and September is half over. May the God of every grace be with you today.

4 Comments